


Strange Creatures

by flumpberry



Series: Broikage Verse [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Divorce, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Iwaizumi tries to help, Kitagawa Daiichi, M/M, No one listens, but kageyama hero worships him anyway, i hc that oikawa is the asshole big brother, oikawa and kageyama are stepbrothers who had a fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-28 17:25:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6338413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flumpberry/pseuds/flumpberry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tooru dangled the bag of chips over Tobio’s head. “Say I’m the best brother ever.”</p><p>Tobio scowled and snatched them out of the air. “Gross. I’m not saying something like that.”</p><p>“You’re not cute at all,” Tooru said with a sigh.</p><p>or</p><p>Oikawa and Kageyama are step brothers but the events of Kitagawa Daiichi still go down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my beta reader candy-of-the-night! Your presence alone pushed me to finish this fic and your comments were oh so helpful. Check them out on [AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Candy_Of_The_Night/pseuds/Candy_Of_The_Night) or tumblr [@candy-of-the-night](http://candy-of-the-night.tumblr.com/).

Tooru raised his hands, preparing to toss the ball, squinting from the glare of the sun. This toss couldn’t be as fast as the one he could give Iwaizumi, nor too high over the net… there. Tobio’s palm contacted the volleyball firmly and he slammed it straight down the side.

“Nice spike, Tobio,” Tooru cheered, patting the boy on the back.

“Nice toss, nii-chan,” Tobio said with a grin.

“This isn’t fair, you two are too good together,” Haru complained, wiping the sweat off his forehead. “We should switch teams.”

“No way, you guys already have Iwa-chan.” Tooru laughed. “That balances it out. Besides, Tobio is way younger than the rest of us.”

“I’m not that young,” Tobio said with a frown. “I already graduated from elementary school and I’ll be going to Kitagawa Daiichi next year.”

Kaoru snorted. “You all seem young to me, little middle schoolers.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder.

“You just started high school. You’re not one to talk,” Haru said to his older sister.

Iwaizumi picked up the volleyball. “Oi, I’m serving now,” he called out, interrupting the conversation.

Tooru focused, knowing Iwaizumi would try to aim his serve towards him so Tooru couldn’t do the toss. The problem with that strategy was…

“Here you go, Tobio,” Tooru said, passing the ball neatly. “Toss it back here!”

Tobio ran under the ball, setting it perfectly to Tooru’s hand. With a triumphant laugh, Tooru spiked it past Kaoru’s block, slamming it into the dirt floor of the court.

“We’re the unbeatable two-setter team!” Tooru shouted, holding out his hands for a high-five. Tobio jumped up and slapped both of his hands, cheering as well.

“Hey you guys, it’s getting pretty late. Maybe you should start heading home soon,” Haru and Kaoru’s mother said, sticking her head out from the house.

The kids made sounds of disappointment, but cleaned up the court. They waved goodbye and then Tooru, Tobio, and Iwaizumi began making their way down the street to their respective homes.

“Your spikes are getting really good, Iwa-chan,” Tooru commented as they walked the short distance down the block.

“You’d better watch out nii-chan,” Tobio said with an impish grin. “Soon Iwa-san will be even better than you at serving.”

“It’s because of all those muscles.” Tooru poked Iwaizumi’s bicep. “Are you trying to steal away the girls’ attention from me?”

Iwaizumi smacked him in the back of the head. “Idiot, I’m not like you. I don’t need a bunch of girls following me around to feel good.”

Tooru stuck out his tongue. “That’s good because they’ll never like you more than me.”

“So it’s true? Nii-chan is a player,” said Tobio, raising his eyebrows.

“You can’t be surprised by that, Tobio,” Iwaizumi responded, ignoring Tooru’s squawk of protest. “He’s always been this flashy. It’s just gotten worse now that people are starting to pay attention.”

“You two always gang up on me,” Tooru complained. He waved his hand, shooing Iwaizumi away. “Go home, traitor.”

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow for morning practice,” Iwaizumi reminded him. “Don’t be late. Please wake him up if he’s being lazy again, Tobio.”

“No problem, Iwa-san. Goodnight!”

Tooru and Tobio walked down three more houses until they reached their house. “We’re home,” they chorused, slipping off their shoes.

Their mother wasn’t there to greet them at the door as she usually was. Instead, they heard loud yelling from the direction of the kitchen. 

“Are they fighting again?” Tobio asked.

Tooru frowned, glancing at the closed door to the kitchen. He couldn’t remember when a week had gone by without them getting into some kind of argument. Lately the fights had been worse than usual, where one of them would then stay angry for days after.

“You go upstairs, Tobio. I’ll grab us something to eat.”

Tobio nodded, heading up to their bedroom. Tooru sighed. He had been trying his best to keep Tobio from hearing their parents fighting, but it was getting harder. He snuck past his parents in the kitchen, avoiding their waving hands as he tried to get to the cupboard. They didn’t even notice him even when the cabinet door creaked open loudly. He grabbed a few snacks and sped out of there, not want to attract their ire. 

“Oh, you got my favorite,” Tobio said when Tooru entered the room. He was reclined back on his bed, a volleyball magazine opened next to him.

“Of course.” Tooru dangled the chips over Tobio’s head. “Say I’m the best brother ever.”

Tobio scowled and snatched them out of the air. “Gross. I’m not saying something like that.”

“You’re not cute at all,” Tooru said with a sigh. “What happened to you? I remember when you used to toddle around and beg to hold my hand. Whenever you had nightmares you would crawl into my bed and cuddle with me. I still remember the day you graduated from diapers. It was the proudest day of my life.”

“I was too old for diapers by the time we met. Our parents didn’t get married until I was three.” Tobio shoved a chip into his mouth, chewing on them noisily. “Is your life so sad you have to make things up?”

“Not cute at all,” Tooru lamented again. He fell back on his bed and frowned. He could still hear his parents shouting even though he closed the door behind him.

Their fighting brought back bad memories. From when he was younger, when his biological father used to live with them. He couldn’t remember much, but he did remember the yelling. They were always yelling. And then it seems one day, his father disappeared. Tooru hadn’t seen him in years. He appeared on the occasional birthday, but that was it. It wasn’t even that Tooru missed him. Even when he had been living with them, he had been always working. Tooru didn’t consider him his father. Biologically, yes he could not deny the connection, but when it came to what really mattered… that man never acted like a dad should. 

The man downstairs though, the man currently fighting with his mom—that was his real father. He was the one who came to all of Tooru’s volleyball games, went to all of the parent-teacher conferences. He encouraged Tooru to pursue volleyball as a serious career, even before anyone else recognized his talent for the sport. And to think that he could one day be gone, that their family could one day be gone… it was scary. He didn’t want to think of the word “divorce”, but he had heard it thrown around a couple of times during their parents’ more recent fights.

“Are you okay?” Tobio asked. “You got really quiet.”

“Just thinking about things,” Tooru said. He walked over to Tobio’s bed and sat down next to him, shoving him over to make space.

“What’s wrong?”

“Make a lot of friends in Kitagawa Daiichi, okay?” Tooru said suddenly. “I’ll only be with you for a year and then I’m graduating. I won’t be able to take care of you like I did in elementary school.”

Tobio scowled. “I know that. I’ve been doing just fine without you for these past two years.”

“Yeah, you’re growing up so fast. Soon you’ll even be on my volleyball team.”

“And you’ll teach me that jump serve, right?” Tobio said, perking up. “You promised.”

“I remember.” Tooru laughed, ruffling Tobio’s hair. “I’ll teach you. Don’t let me forget, no matter what happens in the future.”

“What does that mean?” Tobio asked, tilting his head.

Tooru sighed again, frowning deeply. “Nevermind, it’s nothing.”

 

\- - - - - - - -

 

Tooru woke up with a start, his heart pounding heavily in his chest. He glanced at the clock—two hours left until he had to get up. He sighed and turned onto his side, gripping a pillow to his chest. It was that same dream again, the one that had been waking him up for weeks now.

It always started off the same. He was in the Kitadaiichi gym practicing with Iwaizumi. It was hot and humid and Tooru could feel his shirt sticking to his back. Though they were both tired, they were always laughing. Then Tooru would turn around to pick up a volleyball and suddenly everything would go dark. He would stand there in the darkness, confused and a bit scared, and then in the corner of his eye he would see Tobio. He would turn and then Tobio would start walking away. Tooru would try to follow, but his body would refuse to move. No matter how much he pulled, no matter how much strength he put into his legs, he could never move. He could only watch as Tobio moved farther and farther away into the darkness. Tooru would call out for him, scream his name, beg him not to leave, but Tobio would continue to walk away until he was swallowed by the darkness. Tooru would collapse and cry, begging someone to come rescue him, but no one ever showed up. And then he would wake up.

That stupid dream… Tooru crushed the pillow between his hands.

It had been a few weeks since the divorce had been finalized. It all happened so quickly that Tooru was still in shock. One day Tobio was in their bedroom, throwing pillows at his head and the next day he was gone. Tooru tried to talk to his mother, to make her reconsider the divorce. But no matter how much he begged her to try, she would never budge.

“I’ve been in a dying relationship before,” she would say, her eyes tired and sad. “I know what just isn’t working anymore. I’m sorry, Tooru. Back then, I promised you a family, one you could depend on for the rest of your life. I’m sorry I lied.”

After seeing his mother’s stubbornness, Tooru had turned to his father instead, trying to get him to see reason. But his father was equally as resolute and nothing Tooru said made a difference.

Tooru hadn’t seen Tobio since. His mother wouldn’t allow him to go visit them at their new house, claiming it was too far to for a 14 year old to travel on his own. She wouldn’t go with him either. She said the divorce was still too raw for her to see her ex-husband so soon. Besides he was going to see Tobio soon, in the Kitagawa Daiichi volleyball practice, wasn’t he?

It was lonely, Tooru soon realized, without his brother around. Tooru had never really been alone before. There was always Iwaizumi or Tobio around, no matter where he went. 

Tooru poured his frustration into volleyball, practicing endlessly until his body ached with exhaustion. With his life falling to pieces, volleyball was the only constant. It was something he could focus on, something he could control. He knew the amount he was practicing was probably hurting his body, but he didn’t care. He had to be sure to hide it from Iwaizumi, but that was a fairly easy task due to a well-timed break from practice. The coaches had given them two weeks and Iwaizumi had gone overseas with his family for the entire time. They still skyped occasionally, but it was simple to fake a smile over the internet.

Tooru glanced at the clock. Only an hour until his alarm would go off. He exhaled in frustration and threw off the covers. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep now. He stood up slowly, fatigue making his body sluggish. Stumbling over to the mirror, he glanced at his reflection. He made a face at the dark eye bags that had become a common sight recently. After rinsing his face with water, he carefully covered up the bags with the concealer that he had stolen from his mother. Much better.

Yawning, Tooru stumbled into the Kitagawa Daiichi gym. It was the second day back and he was glad their break had finally ended. It was harder to distract himself with volleyball when he was playing alone.

He grunted a good morning to the other students there and opened his locker to get ready for practice.

“Are you okay?” Iwaizumi asked, looking up from where he was adjusting his shoes.

Tooru stiffened. If there was someone who could read him like a book, it was Iwaizumi. “Fine, why do you ask?” he said, being extra careful to keep his voice neutral. He’d managed to act normally yesterday, the first day he had seen Iwaizumi since their vacation. Though he supposed the other boy had been distracted greeting the other team members and swapping stories about their time off.

“You look strange today. Have you been sleeping okay?”

“I’m fine, Iwa-chan!” Tooru said, pulling on his knee pads. “Let’s just go. Practice waits for no one!”

Iwaizumi stepped in front of him, preventing him from leaving the room. “Don’t lie to me, Oikawa. I can tell when there’s something wrong.”

“Well your Oikawa-radar must be off today because there’s nothing wrong.”

“My Oikawa-radar is working just fine and it’s telling me you’re lying.”

“My Oikawa-radar is better than your Oikawa-radar because I’m Oikawa and I know what I’m feeling,” Tooru said lightly. “You must be imagining things because we hadn’t seen each other for a while. Did you miss me, Iwa-chan?”

Iwaizumi frowned. “Don’t change the subject. Did your nightmares come back?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s nothing. Really,” Tooru insisted. 

“Maybe I would believe you if you weren’t acting so exhausted. Have you been over practicing while I was gone? I told you to take care of your body.”

“I haven’t been over practicing and I’m not tired.”

“And why don’t I believe you?”

The coaches dismissed them to start warm ups and everyone dispersed to different areas of the gym.

“Maybe there’s something wrong with you, ever thought about that?”

“You’re deflecting again.”

“I told you there’s nothing wrong. Can’t you just leave things alone for once?” Tooru finally snapped. He froze, realizing he had just confirmed Iwaizumi’s suspicions.

“Nothing’s wrong, huh?” Iwaizumi asked, sitting down to start stretching. “Your eyes are puffy, you’ve been moving slower than usual, and don’t think I can’t see that limp. But you say everything’s fine?”

“Yes, everything’s fine,” Tooru hissed. “Just drop it.” He strode to an empty side of the gym to get away from Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi followed him doggedly, but Tooru ignored him as he began to warm up on his own. He turned to face away from Iwaizumi, but he could still see the other boy in the corner of his eye. When Tooru sat down to stretch his legs, Iwaizumi copied him. When he stood up, so did Iwaizumi. And when he began to do laps around the gym, Iwaizumi followed. They began to jog in unison around the court, Tooru looking resolutely forwards.

“Are you trying to irritate me?” Tooru snapped finally, turning his head to face his friend.

“I thought the two weeks away from practice would give you some time to breathe and calm down. You acted okay over Skype and told me you were feeling better, but that’s not the case is it?”

“Maybe I’m not fine because you keep on asking me if I’m fine. I would be more fine if you would stop bugging me.”

“I can clearly see there’s something wrong,” Iwaizumi said, frustrated. “Why won’t you just tell me?”

“Well if you don’t like it, maybe you should leave.” Tooru started to run faster to leave Iwaizumi behind, not wanting to participate in the conversation anymore.

Iwaizumi easily kept up with his faster pace, not winded at all. “Are you still having trouble sleeping alone? I could come over again if you want.”

Tooru groaned, giving up on outrunning the other boy. “Stop acting nice, it’s creepy.”

“I’m here for you if you need me.”

“I don’t.”

“Well if you do.”

“Just give some space, okay?” Tooru finally said. “I just need some space.”

Iwaizumi fell quiet. “Okay. That’s fine, if you need space. But remember I’m here.”

“Yes, thank you Iwa-chan,” Tooru said, his voice gentle. “I appreciate it but this is something I have to get over myself.”

 

\- - - - - - - -

 

The week passed without much change, Iwaizumi still giving him space and Tooru still practicing with all his might. Now they were playing against a local high school in a practice match as the finale of their week. Tooru was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, from both the lack of sleep and the exhaustion his body was feeling from this grueling game. Their coaches had been pushing them harder than ever with the tournament looming close in the future. The entire team was tired. Serves were weaker, receives less accurate, and the blockers were barely getting their arms up in time. Tooru was suffering the most, having the burden of insomnia to cope with along with this intense training.

All of a sudden there was a wave of murmurs from the other members of the club. Tooru turned his head to look at what was causing the commotion. He inhaled sharply, realizing what day it was. He had forgotten, too wrapped up in his own mind, his brain dulled by fatigue. Today was the day the new first years would be joining them. That meant… Tooru’s eyes searched the crowd of kids following the coach. In the back, Tooru saw a familiar head of black hair. Tobio waved, grinning brightly at Tooru.

Tooru hesitated, waving back tentatively. This was the first time he had seen Tobio since the divorce. He had been looking forward to this moment for over two months, but now he didn’t know what to do. Should he treat Tobio like a regular first year joining the volleyball team? Or was he supposed to go on like nothing was wrong? Like they were still living together, like they were still brothers?

“Oikawa, pay attention!” the assistant coach yelled. Tooru snapped back to attention and realized that he had just let the ball drop.

“Sorry coach,” he said, trying to refocusing his attention on the game. But his eyes kept being pulled towards Tobio. Tooru had been having a lot of trouble with the divorce and he had thought Tobio must be suffering the same way. But Tobio didn’t look affected. His bright eyes were shining as he set the ball repeatedly to the first year spikers. He laughed at something one of the other boys had said, free of worry. Though he searched, Tooru couldn’t see any sign that Tobio was even the slightest bit upset that their family was now broken. Didn’t he care? Did he not miss Tooru as much as Tooru had missed him?

The slightest bit of resentment began to grow in the pit of his stomach. The a small burning ember grew bigger every time he saw Tobio’s smile, heard his innocent laugh.

“Oikawa!” the assistant coach cried out again. Tooru cursed to himself silently when he saw the ball he had just set fly too high for the spiker to hit, falling sadly onto the floor. The referee blew his whistle, indicating that the set was over. Tooru glanced at the score and winced. He hadn’t even noticed the large point gap between them and the visiting team.

“Pay attention to the game, Oikawa,” the assistant coach reprimanded him. “You can check out the new first years later. Right now you have to get better, good enough to beat Shiratorizawa. That’s why we’re having this team visit us, remember? You requested them specifically to learn from their setter.”

Tooru looked at the ground during his scolding, feeling the words stab sharply into his chest. Normally he could take his scolding easily, but today the criticism felt like it was hitting all of his insecurities. He knew that the coach was just trying to help him, but right now he just felt raw and tired.

While Tooru was sipping his water off between sets, and saw the coach come over to the assistant coach. “That Kageyama kid is a genius”, he overheard them whisper. “It won’t be soon before he surpasses Oikawa through his natural skill alone. If we think our team is good now, Kageyama will make it better.”

Tooru gripped his water bottle tightly, feeling the jealousy burn brighter in his stomach. He knew his younger brother was a natural at volleyball and had always been, but he didn’t think Tobio was that close to surpassing him. How could he have? He was two years younger, two years less experienced. After all the hours Tooru had put into his playing… how could Tobio still be better?

In the next set, he was distracted by his thoughts that he accidentally set the ball too fast for Iwaizumi to hit. It hit the wall and the whistle blew, awarding the other team with a point. That was the fifth combo miss during this set alone. Tooru looked at the ground, clenching his teeth. He had to focus.

It was hard, though, to put his attention on the match when Tobio was on the other side of the gym. It had been over an hour and he hadn’t seen Tobio even glance over at him once. He didn’t appear troubled at all either, showing neither the dark eye bags nor fatigued slouch that Tooru had been wearing for the past two months. ‘Why aren’t you upset?’ he wanted to shout. ‘How can you be okay even though our family fell apart?’

The whistle blew again and Tooru cursed to himself when he noticed he had let another ball fall. He bent down to retrieve it, feeling blood rush to his head. When he stood up, he could see white spots dotting his vision. He rubbed his eyes roughly, trying to clear them away before the game started again. Even his body was betraying him these days.

“Oikawa,” the coach called. Tooru turned to look at him, spinning the volleyball between his hands. What he saw there made him freeze. There was Tobio, wearing a practice jersey that was slightly too big on him, holding up Tooru’s number. “Let Kageyama switch in for a bit so you can cool your head. Even though he’s a new first year, he has great potential.”

Tooru walked slowly off the court. His head felt fuzzy, as if the world were playing in slow motion. Tooru collapsed on the bench, slumping down. He heard the sound of his team mates greeting Kageyama and introducing themselves. So this was it, the beginning of the end. Here’s where Tobio would begin to replace him, would begin to show the world that we was better than him. Tooru watched dully as Tobio’s presence invigorated the team, his skillful sets bringing the team to victory. 

“Good job, Tobio!” Iwaizumi said after the match, slapping Tobio on the back. Tooru’s mouth pulled into a sneer when he saw his best friend smile at Tobio. He hadn’t spent much time with Iwaizumi recently because of his earlier request for space. Though he knew the distance between him and Iwaizumi was his own doing, it didn’t stop the dark jealousy from growing in his chest.

Tobio looked up at Iwaizumi with a smile. “Thank you, Iwa-san,” he said, looking overwhelmed. Tobio approached Tooru, still smiling.

“Nii-chan—” Tobio began.

Tooru cut him off. “First years have to go clean up over there,” he said, pointing at the other side of the gym.

Tobio looked startled and looked like he was about to say something else, but the coach interrupted by calling him over. Tobio glanced at Tooru one last time before he turned and went to help the other first years.

“What was that?” Iwaizumi asked, sitting down next to Tooru.

“Nothing,” Tooru said, standing up. “I’m going to stay late to practice. You can leave without me.”

Iwaizumi didn’t look happy at that, but he didn’t say anything. Normally he would protest and stay until Tooru was done, but he was still taking Tooru’s request for space seriously.

After everyone had left, Tooru practiced his jump serve. It still lacked the accuracy to be useful in the game.

He threw the ball up in the air and jumped again, determined to get this one in. He aimed for the center of the court, but it landed just outside the back line. Tooru huffed, frustrated. He tried again but missed the court by a mile. Tooru threw the volleyball onto the ground and bent over to rest his hands against his knees.

He wasn’t improving fast enough. His serves were getting worse rather than better. And today his playing had been awful, enough so that he had been benched. No matter how hard he tried, he was never going to be good enough. Not good enough to beat Ushiwaka. Not good enough to get to nationals. And now Tobio was here and he was a genius, everything Tooru was striving to be. He knew that soon enough he would be surpassed, that he wouldn’t be a regular, wouldn’t be able to play with his team anymore. He wouldn’t be useful to anyone, wouldn’t be able to play volleyball, wouldn’t be able to do anything…

“Nii-chan,” he heard a voice call out from behind him. Tooru turned and saw Tobio standing there holding a volleyball. “Could you teach me how to serve?”

It felt like a dream, a nightmare even, with Tobio there, his presence screaming ‘I’m better than you, will always be better than you. I don’t need you anymore’. Tooru felt a wave of rage overcome him, could feel himself losing control of his body. Suddenly it was all too much. The stress from the divorce, the loneliness and exhaustion he’d been feeling for weeks now, the jealousy from when Tobio took his place on the court.

“Why aren’t you upset?” Tooru yelled, grabbing Tobio and shaking him. “Don’t you care at all?”

“Nii-chan…” Tobio said, shocked.

“And stop calling me that!” Tooru shouted, shoving the other boy so hard he fell to the ground. Tobio let out a yelp when he hit the ground, looking up at Tooru. “Why are you even here? I don’t want you here!”

“What are you so angry about?” Tobio yelled back. 

“I’m not your brother anymore,” Tooru screamed, “don’t you get that? We’re not family, our family is broken. Nothing I can do will fix it. You’re not even trying to fix it!” When Tobio tried to stand up, Tooru pushed him back on to the ground, looming over him.

“What’s wrong?” Tobio asked shakily. “What did I do wrong?”

“Everything! You did everything wrong!” Tooru grabbed Tobio’s shirt and started shaking him. “Everything that’s happened, it’s your fault! Why did you have to ruin everything?”

“Let go of me!” Tobio said, pushing Tooru away.

“You just had to always get your way,” Tooru continued. He couldn’t stop himself now, he was too far gone. “Making them buy you all that stuff, those video games and the new volleyball equipment. If it weren’t for you, mom and dad wouldn’t have fought so much about money and would still be together.”

“Well what about you,” Tobio shot back, trembling. “Maybe if you’d been less selfish then they wouldn’t have had all of those arguments. You always had them driving you back and forth from all of your activities. They never denied you anything and you knew that, and you took advantage of that!”

The words stung and only encouraged the rage Tooru could feel overpowering his body. “If you hadn’t been so stupid then we wouldn’t have had to spend all that money on private tutors.” He said condescendingly. “How much of an idiot can you be, Tobio? You couldn’t even pass elementary school without help!”

“Shut up!” Tobio yelled back, stepping forwards. “You can’t say anything about money. You spent thousands on volleyball lessons. And for what? You didn’t even make it to nationals!”

“Bastard,” Tooru growled, raising his hand. He felt his body moving without his permission, felt his fist swing towards Tobio’s shocked face. But he couldn’t stop himself, didn’t even know if he wanted to.

Suddenly there was a hand on his own, pulling his arm back. Tooru turned, his eyes going wide. “Iwa-chan…”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Iwaizumi growled, shoving Tooru back from where he was standing over Tobio. Iwaizumi glared at both of them. “I come back to school to look for you and this is what I see? The two of you punching each other?”

“We were just…” Tooru said, trailing off. The anger that had previously been consuming him was gone, replaced by a growing sense of guilt over what he had said to his brother. He glanced over at Tobio, ready to apologize.

“You know what, I’m leaving,” Tobio snarled, still furious. “I didn’t come here for this.”

He began to stride away, but Tooru grabbed his arm. “I…” Tooru began, trying to apologize.

“Let me go!” Tobio jerked his arm away violently. “And don’t worry, I got the message. I won’t talk to you anymore, Oikawa-san.”

“No, wait,” Tooru cried out softly, but it was too late.

Tooru tried to talk to him the next day and then the day after that. Tobio turned him away with a snarl day after day. Tooru knew his younger brother could hold a grudge for a long time, so he tried to be patient. But after weeks of Tobio publicly rejecting him, Tooru could feel his anger building again. And he kept on saying that name, _Oikawa-san_. As if they were nothing to each other.

Fine. If Tobio wanted it to be that way, then Tooru would oblige. From this day on, they were no longer brothers.


	2. Chapter 2

“Alright, everyone off the bus!” Iwaizumi shouted. “Remember what I was saying before. Let’s use this practice match against Karasuno to become a better team. And don’t forget you’re representing Aoba Johsai right now, so behave!” He got off the bus and stood at the foot of the door, watching his team file out. 

Oikawa exited the bus last, a sour frown on his face. He had been quiet the entire trip, something that had unsettled the rest of the team. They were used to their captain being cheerful and confident, especially before practice matches. He was usually the one giving them the pep talk, and not their vice captain.

“I’ve never seen Oikawa so silent,” Yahaba said quietly to Watari. “He’s not even this serious before we’re fighting Shiratorizawa. Is Karasuno really that strong?”

“I don’t remember them much of them from previous tournaments. Aren’t they the ‘fallen powerhouse, flightless crows’?” Watari replied.

“They shouldn’t be too hard to beat,” Yahaba concluded.

Kindaichi overheard their conversation and fell in line with to them. “I don’t know much of Karasuno, but I know one of their players: Kageyama Tobio. We used to go to middle school with him.” He gestured towards Kunimi who nodded in agreement. “So did Oikawa-san and Iwaizumi-san.”

Oikawa stiffened, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking faster. 

Kindaichi continued, “He’s a strong player and a genius setter, but horrible to play with. He had no sense of teamwork at all. He was famous for his egocentric playing, even had a nickname.”

“King of the Court,” Kunimi interjected, nodding. 

Iwaizumi could see Oikawa tensing up when he heard that nickname. “We’re not here to check out any one member.” Iwaizumi said, giving the underclassmen a stern look. “We’re here to play against a team, remember that. We’ll play our hardest and test our strength against theirs’.”

He strode off, leading their team to the gym. He could feel Oikawa’s angry stare piercing his back, but he ignored it. Oikawa had already made his protests loud and clear. Iwaizumi was not going to budge though. They were going to have this match and Oikawa was going to face the issue that had been hanging over his heads for the past two years. 

When the Seijoh members approached the Karasuno gym, they could hear the sounds of volleyballs smacking the ground. One of the Karasuno members met them at the door.

“Sawamura Daichi, Karasuno’s captain,” he said, bowing. “It’s a pleasure to play against you.”

“Thank you for having us,” Iwaizumi replied with a small bow back. “I’m Iwaizumi Hajime, vice-captain of Aoba Johsai.”

“Why don’t you guys take that side of the court and start warming up.” Sawamura waved to one side of the gym. “We’ve been running a few exercises while we waited, so my team should be ready when you are.”

Iwaizumi nodded and motioned for his team to start preparing for the match. Oikawa was still refusing to meet anyone’s eyes, tucked away in the corner. But he was stripping off his jacket and starting to stretch, which was all Iwaizumi could ask for. Iwaizumi glanced around the gym at the Karasuno members. He met the dark eyes of the one person they were there for. Kageyama looked down hurriedly and rushed to the side of the court to help his team mates collect the volleyballs. 

Iwaizumi sighed. He knew part of the problem was his fault, so Kageyama was justified in avoiding him. Iwaizumi’s lack of action had been just as damning as Oikawa’s words had been. If only he had stepped in, done something…

“Which one is he?” Yahaba asked Kindaichi quietly, looking in the direction of Karasuno.

“Black hair, scowling,” Kindaichi said, glancing over as well. At that moment, Kageyama also looked over and met Kindaichi’s eyes. They both quickly looked away. 

Iwaizumi sighed. He felt bad for Kageyama, with all of his least favorite people all gathered here on one team. Oikawa, Kindaichi, and Kunimi… Iwaizumi begrudgingly had to add himself to the list of the people who had made Kageyama’s middle school life miserable. 

“I wonder if he’ll be able to play with his new team at all,” Kindaichi mused. 

“Probably not,” Kunimi said. Yahaba looked at him in surprise. Usually Kunimi kept more to himself during warm-ups. “He was always yelling for us to go faster or try harder. And I know volleyball is an intense sport, but he took it to a whole other level.”

“How about we stop talking about Kageyama right now,” Oikawa suddenly said, too loudly. Even Karasuno could hear him and they all looked over curiously. Kageyama scowled at Oikawa and turned away, saying something to the Karasuno members to make them stop staring. 

“Are you okay, Oikawa?” Matsukawa asked. “You seem tense.”

“I’m fine,” Oikawa said unconvincingly. Seeing the look on Matsukawa’s face, Oikawa smiled and pointed at his face. “See? I’m okay!”

“I thought you were a better liar than that.” Matsukawa stood up. “Well whatever is getting you down, don’t let it affect the match, captain.”

“If you don’t fell well, Yahaba can always take over,” Hanamaki said with a teasing grin.

“No way.” Oikawa laughed. Iwaizumi could tell it was fake, but the others looked like they bought it. “You’d have to drag me off the court. Now let’s go and beat those crows.”

 

\- - - - - - - -

 

In the Karasuno gym, the referee blew the whistle and the Seijoh-Karasuno volleyball match began. Kageyama and Oikawa stood opposite each other, neither looking at each other. Iwaizumi was uneasy. He had set the conditions of this practice match so Kageyama was the only Karasuno setter playing. He had thought that with Kageyama on the court, Oikawa would be forced to pay attention to him. Of course, it seems he underestimated the stubbornness of his friend and overestimated the importance of volleyball. Iwaizumi shook his head, taking the ball and rolling it to Karasuno to do the first serve. 

The game was evenly matched between the players of the two teams. Karasuno’s defense was sturdy, with their talented libero and captain guarding their backs. The two wing spikers were also very strong. Iwaizumi had trouble blocking their spikes at times. They also had a blond middle blocker, who appeared to be a first year since his technique was a bit lacking. And then there was that short #10. Iwaizumi couldn’t figure him out. It was true that he could jump very high and he got a couple of one-touches off of Iwaizumi, but there was nothing spectacular about him.

Iwaizumi smirked when a strong spike from one Karasuno’s wing spikers was received easily by Watari. Though Karasuno was good, they weren’t quite up to Seijoh’s level. They would probably be able to take this game in two sets.

“Left!” one of the wing spikers was calling. Iwaizumi tensed, getting ready to receive the ball, but Kageyama suddenly dumped it instead. 

“Nice Kageyama!” one of the Karasuno members called out. 

Oikawa scoffed, looking annoyed, but quickly got the point back by dumping the ball on the next play. 

“Nice one, Oikawa!” Watari cheered. 

Kageyama looked pissed off as well, though he still wasn’t looking at Oikawa. On the next play, Iwaizumi could clearly see Kageyama going in for another dump. Iwaizumi looked to Oikawa to block it, but Oikawa wasn’t even looking at Kageyama. Luckily Watari was paying attention and saved the ball. Seijoh managed to score and take the point.

“Pay attention Oikawa!” Iwaizumi shouted. Oikawa didn’t make any motions to acknowledge that he’d even heard Iwaizumi. 

Iwaizumi could tell that Oikawa’s uncharacteristic silence was affecting the team. The first years especially looked uneasy. Though they had only joined Seijoh a few weeks ago, they had already worked with Oikawa significantly during the time. Iwaizumi could tell that they were unnerved playing while their captain was so off of his game. 

Kindaichi fumbled the ball the next time Oikawa set to him, barely getting it over the net. “Sorry,” he said, looking upset. 

“Don’t mind,” Iwaizumi said, slapping him on the back. He glanced at Oikawa. Wasn’t that set a little too fast for Kindaichi to hit? Oikawa usually apologized if he messed up a set, but this time he didn’t say anything. 

The next toss was to Kindaichi again, but this time it was too high for Kindaichi to reach. Iwaizumi had to jump up himself and tip the ball over the net. 

“Sorry, Oikawa-san, my timing must have been off,” Kindaichi apologized again, rubbing the back of his head. 

“That wasn’t your fault, Kindaichi,” Iwaizumi said, patting the other boy on the back. “It was a bit too high for you.” He glared at Oikawa, who didn’t appear to be paying them any attention. Enough was enough. 

Iwaizumi gestured to the coach to call a time out. The referee blew the whistle and and Iwaizumi ushered his team over to the bench. He grabbed Oikawa and pulled him over to a more secluded corner. On the Karasuno side, he could see Kageyama being dragged off as well by the short #10.

Iwaizumi turned to Oikawa. “What are you doing out there?” he asked in a low voice.

“What do you mean?” Oikawa stretched out his fingers.

“You know what I mean, Oikawa. Stop screwing around! I know you don’t want to be here, but you could at least respect your team enough to play volleyball correctly.”

“I am playing—”

“Don’t lie to me!” Iwaizumi shouted. He could see the other Seijoh members staring at them, so he lowered his voice. “Your tosses are off and you haven’t said a word since the match began. Not to mention you haven’t even glanced at Kageyama once during the entire first set.”

“Fine you’re right, I’m not playing up to par,” Oikawa said. He looked at Iwaizumi stubbornly. “But you’re the one who forced me here in the first place. I didn’t even want to come.”

“Well that’s too bad, we’re already here,” Iwaizumi snarled, grabbing Oikawa by the shirt. “We’re playing a match right now and you’re our captain. You can’t let personal matters affect the team.”

“You shouldn’t have forced the situation,” Oikawa hissed, shaking off Iwaizumi’s hand. “Then this wouldn’t be an issue. I know what you’re up to. You brought me here because you want me to make up with Kageyama. But the situation between me and him, it doesn’t concern you!”

“Don’t give me that bullshit. I was just as involved with the fallout in middle school. I saw everything that happened, supported you through it all, don’t say that I’m not involved. Who was the one who stayed up with you when you couldn’t fall asleep? Who was the one who listened to your complaints, who distracted you when you needed it?”

“I didn’t ask you to do that!”

“Just shut up, Oikawa! So what if I want you to make up with Kageyama? That’s not the issue at hand. Your shitty playing is affecting the whole team. Your last few tosses to Kindaichi were too high to hit. And then you didn’t even apologize to him, so now the poor boy is probably blaming himself.”

“I…” Oikawa glanced at Kindaichi, who was sitting on the bench with Kunimi patting his back. He deflated. “You’re right. Sorry, Iwa-chan. I’ll apologize to Kindaichi too. I know you did a lot for me and I’m really grateful. It doesn’t mean that I’m still not mad you dragged me here though.”

“You can be mad, but don’t drag the team into it. Look at Kageyama, read his moves, and start playing volleyball already.” Iwaizumi said, just as the referee blew the whistle for the game to continue. “Now let’s go out there and win, captain.”

 

\- - - - - - - -

 

When the volleyball match began again, it was clear that the Oikawa had taken his scolding to heart. He was looking at Kageyama and reading his moves, playing volleyball as he usually did. He had yet to make eye contact with Kageyama, but Iwaizumi counted this as a step in the right direction anyways. The set ended and the teams switched sides. 

The second set was more intense than the first, now that their setter was actually playing. Iwaizumi was just getting into the swing of things, learning to understand his opponents’ rhythm and attacks, when the ball suddenly whizzed past his face, slamming into the ground before he could even twitch a muscle. 

“YEAH!” the orange-haired Karasuno player yelled. He held up his hand for a high-five from Kageyama. Kageyama hesitated and then slapped the other player’s hand. 

“What was that?” Iwaizumi could hear Kunimi ask. “Was that a quick?”

“It was probably just a fluke,” Kindaichi said, shaking his head. “Didn’t you recognize that toss? It was the same reckless one that Kageyama used to use. There’s no way that spiker could manage to hit it.”

But it wasn’t a fluke. The next play, they did it again. And again.

“He’s not even looking at the ball,” Oikawa realized, his eyes wide, staring at the Karasuno team. “That #10, he had his eyes closed the entire time.”

“What do you mean?” Hanamaki asked. 

Oikawa clenched his hands and turned away. “It means that, whatever that quick was, it wasn’t the spiker doing the work. It’s all from the setter. Kageyama… he’s calculating the spiker’s speed and swing all within a second, and then setting the toss so it pinpoints onto the spiker’s hand. The precision involved with that…”

“Unbelievable,” Hanamaki said, looking at Kageyama. “He’s definitely a genius.”

“Yeah,” Oikawa said. Iwaizumi heard a strange strain in his voice. “A genius.”

The whistle tweeted, signaling another point for Karasuno. Iwaizumi scowled, frustrated he had been unable to block that #10’s quick again. 

“Free ball!” Oikawa yelled on the next play. “Watari, toss to me!”

Watari slid under the ball and tossed it to Oikawa, who spiked it right between Kageyama’s block. “How do you like that? You can’t use that quick on us if you can’t receive the ball, Tobio-chan.” Oikawa taunted, staring straight into Kageyama’s eyes with a smirk on his face. 

Kageyama ground his teeth and turned away. On the next play, Kageyama yelled out, “Sawamura-san, toss it here!” Sawamura was clearly startled by this request, but managed to get the toss to Kageyama. Kageyama spiked it and he scored, despite Oikawa’s attempt at a block. Kageyama grinned back at Oikawa, mockingly. “We can score just fine without that quick, Oikawa-san.”

Oikawa clenched his fist and turned towards his team. “We’ll get the next one, let’s do it!” he yelled. 

Kageyama looked at his own team. “We can’t let them win!” he shouted. 

The score rose quickly with both Kageyama and Oikawa playing aggressively. The other members of the team had to just hang on as the two setters began to compete antagonistically against each other. Iwaizumi could see both coaches frowning, but neither Kageyama nor Oikawa had done anything that would warrant them getting pulled from the game yet. 

He was getting uneasy about how the game was going too, but Oikawa and Kageyama were actually talking to each other, even if they doing so through taunts, so he didn’t step in just yet. After two years of them obstinately not talking… he would see how this played out. 

As the game progressed, Oikawa’s tosses started getting faster and faster, though he managed to keep himself in check so that they were at least hittable. Kageyama didn’t seem to have that self control. His next toss to Karasuno’s ace was so fast and powerful, it missed the other boy’s hand completely and slammed into the wall. 

“Getting a little impatient there, aren’t you… King?” Oikawa said with a cruel smile. 

“What did you call me?” Kageyama growled, glaring at Oikawa from across the net. 

“Oh sorry, isn’t that your name? King of the Court.”

“Bastard, don’t call me that!” Kageyama yelled, taking one step closer to the net. 

“Oikawa stop provoking him,” Iwaizumi snapped. 

“I would,” Oikawa said. He looked down his nose at Kageyama, emphasizing their height difference. “But I really can’t tolerate seeing such selfish playing. Any player worth his salt can’t play like that, least of all a setter.”

“If there’s anyone who’s selfish, it’s you,” Kageyama said, “bringing your personal grudges onto the court. Aren’t you supposed to be captain?”

“At least I’ve never been benched because I was too stupid to understand that I was being an asshole.”

Kageyama let out a snarl and lifted up the net, barreling into Oikawa. Oikawa caught him by the shoulders, taking a step back so he wouldn’t be pushed over. Then Oikawa shoved Kageyama hard, almost pushing the other boy to the ground. Kageyama raised his fist to hit Oikawa, but was interrupted by Iwaizumi, who pushed himself between the two.

“Stop that you idiots!” He shouted, punching both Oikawa and Kageyama in their stomachs. They paused, the wind knocked out of them. “What are you, children? We’re here to play volleyball, not start fist fights.”

“He started it—” Oikawa began.

“Shut up! You guys aren’t kids anymore. High schoolers don’t settle disputes through their fists, especially not during a match!”

“I completely agree,” their coach said from the sidelines, his arms crossed tightly. “I’m very disappointed in you, Oikawa. We’re here for a practice match with another team, not here to start a fight. Bench, now.”

“Kageyama,” the Karasuno coach barked, “you too, off. We’ll be talking about this later.” He glanced at Seijoh’s coach, who gave a nod allowing the breach in their promise that Kageyama be the only setter.

Iwaizumi took in a large, calming breath. When he was done with this game, he was going to punch those idiots so hard. Then maybe kick them when they were down, just a little bit. Though he knew there was a possibility of a fight starting, he had been betting on the fact that the two wouldn’t be so stupid to pull this in front of the coaches and their teams. But he underestimated how bull-headed the two estranged brothers could be. He always did.

 

\- - - - - - - -

 

Iwaizumi wiped the sweat off of his forehead, splashing his face in the sink. The game was over and Karasuno had won, though barely. It turns out Karasuno had a 3rd year setter who had much more experience with his team than Yahaba did with Seijoh. Oikawa and Kageyama hadn’t said another word since their fight. They had both sat silently on the bench the rest of the game, not looking at each other. Iwaizumi sighed, staring at himself in the mirror. Had he been wrong, trying to force the issue and get the two to make up? 

Iwaizumi opened the door to leave the bathroom when a body crashed into him. Iwaizumi looked down. It was Karasuno’s #10, the short one who had done that god-like quick with Kageyama. 

“Oh!” The boy said, surprised. 

“Ah, sorry,” Iwaizumi said. 

“Seijoh’s ace!” The boy shouted and hastily bowed. “Um… I’m sorry for bumping into you!”

“It’s no problem,” Iwaizumi said, surprised. “You’re a first year at Karasuno, right? Your spikes were pretty amazing today.”

“Yes! I mean t-thank you!” The boy said, stuttering, bowing again.

“What’s your name, first year? ”

The boy squeaked. “Hinata Shouyou, it’s nice to meet you!”

“Hinata, huh? I’m Iwaizumi Hajime.”

Oh,” Hinata suddenly said, looking thoughtful. “Iwaizumi. Kageyama told me about you. He said you were his senpai in middle school and that you were an awesome spiker.”

“Oh?” Iwaizumi said with a smile. “I didn’t know Kageyama still thought that highly of me.”

“But Kageyama also looked really weird when he was talking about you.” Hinata scrunched up his face. “He looked all constipated… It was weird; I’d never seen his face like that.”

“Kageyama and I have a… complicated history. His issues lie more with Oikawa than with me, though.”

“I’ve never seen Kageyama like that during a match,” Hinata said, looking concerned. “He wasn’t that angry even when I screwed up during the Nekoma match and served a ball into the back of his head, and he was pretty mad then.”

“Yeah,” Iwaizumi agreed with a sigh. “Oikawa brings out that anger in people, in Kageyama especially.”

“He’s actually been weird ever since we heard we were having the practice match with you, like he was depressed or something. He stopped running to school with me, or practicing tosses with me, and he didn’t even react when I stole his milk box.”

“You’re a close friend to Kageyama, aren’t you Hinata?” 

Hinata considered this. “Even though we just met, I consider Kageyama a friend,” Hinata said finally. “It’s only natural, right? We both love volleyball and he gives me good tosses.”

Surprised, Iwaizumi laughed. “I guess if those are the criteria for a ‘good friend’, then Kageyama is certainly qualified.”

“Well as his friend, I want to help him,” Hinata declared. “Can you help me with that?”

Iwaizumi hesitated. The situation between Kageyama and Oikawa was a family matter and he wasn’t sure Kageyama would be comfortable with Hinata knowing. But at the same time, his plan to get the two brothers to make up was at a stand-still. 

Iwaizumi opened his mouth to respond but interrupted by a shout. “Iwaizumi-san, we’re headed back to the bus! Hurry up!”

“Here, let me get your number, Hinata,” Iwaizumi said, holding out his phone. “We can think together about what to do to help Kageyama.”

“Okay!” Hinata said, brightening up. “Thank you Iwaizumi-san.”

“No, thank you,” Iwaizumi said. “From what I can tell, you’re someone Kageyama can trust. He needs more people like that.”

Iwaizumi shook his head and smiled at himself as headed back to the gym to pick up his stuff. He watched Hinata slap Kageyama on the back, hustling the other boy to the locker room. Kageyama allowed himself to be pulled away without much of a fuss. Then Iwaizumi glanced at Oikawa who was slowly packing up his things.

He smacked Oikawa on the back of his head. Oikawa jumped and looked up at him. “Let’s go, Oikawa.”

“You don’t have anything to say to me?” Oikawa asked softly, looking drained. 

“Later,” Iwaizumi replied. “Let’s go home first.”

Oikawa nodded and headed out, his shoulders slouched down as if he were carrying a heavy weight. Iwaizumi wrapped his arm around Oikawa’s shoulder and the other boy leaned into him. 

In the bus, they settled in the back. The other members took note of the situation and took seats near the front to give their captain and vice-captain some privacy. The coach did a quick head-count and whispered something to the driver. The radio began to play on the bus speakers, giving Iwaizumi and Oikawa an even greater veneer of privacy. Iwaizumi nodded his thanks to the coach.

Oikawa exhaled heavily. He shuffled closer when the bus started moving, looking over Iwaizumi to the window to watch Karasuno pulling away. 

Iwaizumi waited for him to start the conversation, but Oikawa refused to even meet Iwaizumi’s eyes. Instead, he defiantly stared out at the passing scenery. Iwaizumi nudged him with his elbow. “So talk.”

“Talk about what?” Oikawa said, playing dumb.

“What happened in there, Oikawa? Why did you start the fight?”

“I didn’t start anything,” Oikawa said indignantly. “Kageyama was giving me this vibe, like he was better than me. I was just showing him his flaws.”

Iwaizumi sighed. “Don’t start with me,” he said. “Is this still about the divorce? You can’t seriously still blame him for that.”

Oikawa fell silent. “Of course I don’t blame him anymore,” he finally said. “I know now that none of it was his fault. He was a victim in the circumstances as well.”

“If you understand that, then why the fight?”

“It was stupid,” Oikawa whispered, “and I know that. You know me, I just got so jealous. Tobio’s tosses were beyond what I could ever dream of doing. His talent for volleyball is so immense. I guess I got caught up in the moment and my jealousy translated into anger about… everything.”

Iwaizumi huffed. “You really need to talk to him. You’ve both changed, your parents have moved on. Don’t you think it’s time to reconcile?”

“Yeah,” Oikawa laughed bitterly, “I doubt Tobio would want to talk to me though. Not after what I said to him. And we both know the whole ‘King of the Court’ thing that happened in middle school was partially my fault. I pushed him too much. Ah, I’m so stupid!” Oikawa buried his head in his arms.

“You’re not stupid, just stupidly impulsive.”

“I can’t believe I called him that!” Oikawa whined, ignoring Iwaizumi completely.

“We’re going to Karasuno tomorrow,” Iwaizumi decided, “and you can apologize properly then.”

“Tobio is going to run away,” Oikawa said, dragging his hands down his face. “I just know it.”

Iwaizumi thought for a second and the pulled out his phone. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve got someone who can help.


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata stared at Kageyama, who was silently packing up his stuff. Kageyama had been too quiet throughout practice, which unsettled the entire team. Coach Ukai had forgiven him for picking a fight the previous day, after giving him a stern lecture about never doing it again. But even after that Kageyama still didn’t look to be in a better mood.

Hinata tried to talk to Kageyama multiple times during the day, to no avail. During lunch, by the time Hinata had gotten to Kageyama’s classroom, the other boy was gone. He searched all of Kageyama’s normal hiding spots but had no luck. He had even tried asking Kageyama’s classmates if they knew where he was, but no one could say. Finally, Hinata gave up. If Kageyama didn’t want to talk right now, then it was clear he would just avoid Hinata until he dropped it. 

During afternoon practice that day, Kageyama avoided interacting with anyone. Hinata kept quiet and didn’t push him, only glancing at Kageyama a few times. Apparently this helped Kageyama felt more relaxed. At the end of practice, he even tossed to Hinata a couple of times. 

Hinata still didn’t know what was going on between Kageyama and Oikawa. At the beginning of their practice match against Seijoh, Kageyama had been a mess. It wasn’t until Hinata yelled at him that his playing got better. And then he went and picked a fight with Oikawa, which was very unlike him. He could respect Iwaizumi’s decision not to explain the situation to him, though. It wasn’t his right to pry into Kageyama’s personal business. 

Last night Iwaizumi had texted him, asking him to keep Kageyama after practice. He hadn’t explained why, but Hinata could read between the lines enough to know that Iwaizumi would be bringing Oikawa around to see Kageyama. Hinata wasn’t quite sure how he would be able to stall Kageyama until Oikawa arrived. Normally it would be fine, since they usually stayed late to practice their tosses anyway. Today, though, Kageyama was on his guard and he would surely notice if Hinata acted suspiciously. 

It was really unfortunate that Hinata was a bad liar. He swallowed, trying to pump himself up. Just act casual, he told himself. 

“Uh, nice practice today Kageyama,” Hinata said, approaching the setter. 

Kageyama looked at him suspiciously. “Ah,” he said, tensing up.

Hinata thought frantically about what they could talk about. “Um… so I didn’t see you during lunch. Were you with a teacher or something?”

“What do you want, Hinata?” Kageyama asked, frowning. “If you’re going to ask about yesterday…”

“No, of course not, don’t be stupid Kageyama,” Hinata said, forcing a laugh. “Um… why don’t we stay a little bit to practice right now?”

Kageyama looked at him suspiciously. “You’re being weird.”

“Ah? It’s weird to ask to be tossed to?” Hinata said too loudly. “Besides, we need to work on our quick more.”

“No.” 

“Bakageyama! Don’t you remember our loss to Nekoma? We have to get better for the Inter-High tournament and that quick is the best way to do it.”

“I said no, idiot!”

“Just do it for an hour. No, half an hour even! I’ll treat you to meat buns afterwards. Just a few tosses, come on Kageyama!”

“You’re so annoying!” Kageyama yelled. “Fine, I’ll toss to you.”

“Yes!” Hinata shouted, pumping his fist in the air. Now it was up to Iwaizumi-san to do his part of the plan.

They had only been playing for ten minutes when Hinata heard some noise outside. Hinata tensed up, missing the next toss. 

“What is that?” Kageyama asked, turning towards the door.

“Nothing, it’s nothing!” Hinata shouted, waving his arms in the air. “Toss to me again!”

Kageyama gave him a skeptical look, but when he didn’t hear any more movement outside, he turned back to set the volleyball. Just then there was a knock on the gym door. 

“Excuse us,” Iwaizumi said, bowing slightly as he entered the gym. Oikawa followed close behind, looking uncharacteristically timid.

Kageyama stiffened. “Did you set this up?” He hissed at Hinata. 

“Kageyama, don’t blame him,” Iwaizumi said, stopping in front of the duo. “I asked him to do this.”

“Why?” Kageyama scowled at Oikawa. “Why is he here?”

“Tobio…” Oikawa began hesitantly. “Can we talk?”

“Talk about what?”

“You know what…” Oikawa said. 

“No, I don’t know what,” Kageyama said mockingly. 

Hinata shifted uncomfortably, caught in between Kageyama and Oikawa. He quickly ducked off to the side, hiding partially behind Iwaizumi.

Kageyama continued, “What did you want to talk about?” he asked angrily. “Say it, Oikawa-san. What did you want to talk about? How I’m a horrible person who caused everything that’s wrong in your life? Did you want to insult me more? Maybe punch me a couple of times?

“Tobio, please,” Oikawa said softly. “Let me just say what I came here to say and you can ignore me all you want afterwards.” He looked defeated already, his shoulders drooping down. His eyes were shaded by dark, heavy bags. 

Kageyama stared impassively at Oikawa, clenching his jaw. 

Iwaizumi stepped in. “Please just listen to what he has to say. I know you’ve had your problems in the past.” Iwaizumi sighed. “I haven’t done anything to help you guys either. I know I should have stepped in back in middle school, more than I did. And I should have let it go on for so long.”

Kageyama was silent, his face blank. 

“But you two are brothers!” Iwaizumi continued, more fiercely. “You used to be so close, I was always jealous of you two. Oikawa for having a cute brother following him around, admiring him and calling him ‘nii-chan’, and you, Kageyama, for having an older brother you could look up to and depend on. Your relationship might not be all that it used to be, with all that happened in the past, but you can fix that! So please say that you’ll at least hear him out.”

Kageyama was staring at the floor now, not saying anything. The silence drew on as everyone waited for Kageyama to respond. 

Hinata looked back and forth from Oikawa to Kageyama. So that was the situation… they were brothers who had gotten into a very bad fight, from the sounds of it. Hinata hesitated, not knowing if it was his place to talk or not. In the end, he couldn’t help it. He stepped forwards and placed his hand on Kageyama’s arm. Kageyama looked up from the ground to stare at Hinata. 

“You should just listen to what he has to say, Kageyama.” Hinata said quietly. “I may not have the whole story, but I have a sister so I kind of know what you’re going through. Fights between siblings can be horrible because you’re so close, worse than any fight you could have even with your closest friend. But they shouldn’t last long! You have a unique relationship, one that you won’t get with anyone else. You’re family! And family shouldn’t fight, not like this. When I get into a fight with Natsu, we can say really mean things to each other. But I know I’d forgive Natsu no matter what she said to me because she’s my sister and I love her. I know she doesn’t mean the things she says in the heat of the moment. And so… I think it’s kind of the same thing, with Oikawa. So just… I mean… I think you should listen to him.” Hinata finished, squeezing his eyes closed as he struggled to get the words out.

Kageyama stared at him for a long time. “…Fine,” he said at last. “I’ll listen to what you have to say. But that doesn’t mean I’ll accept any apology you make.” 

“Okay.” Oikawa breathed out, rubbing the back of his neck. He laughed in relief. “Okay. Sorry, I didn’t expect you to actually listen to me. Thank you, Tobio.”

“Don’t thank me,” Kageyama grumbled, “I just said I might not accept your apology. Just say what you have to say.”

“I… I don’t know where to start,” Oikawa confessed shakily. He took in a deep breath and exhaled. “There’s so much I have to apologize for. I should have said this a long time ago too. I guess I’ll start at the beginning. I’m… so, so sorry for lashing out at you in middle school. I wasn’t angry at you, but at mom and dad’s divorce and I just took it out on you because you were the easy target. And I knew the moment those words left my mouth that it was the wrong thing to say, but I couldn’t stop myself. And so… I hope you can bring it upon yourself to forgive me for that.”

After a moment of silence, Kageyama clenched his fists and glared at Oikawa. “That’s it? ‘I’m sorry for being horrible towards you in middle school because I was angry’? That’s all you have to say to me. You were a horrible brother! It wasn’t just your family that was being torn apart, it was mine too! And I looked to you for support and you yelled at me instead!” Kageyama cut himself off, biting his lip, and he looked away. 

Oikawa swallowed, stepping closer to Kageyama. “You have every right to be angry and hurt,” he said, his voice wavering. “If I were you, I would be angry at me too.”

“Damn right I’m mad,” Kageyama said, but his voice cracked in the middle of his sentence.

“And I’m also sorry for what I said to you yesterday,” Oikawa continued. “I shouldn’t have called you that nickname.”

“No,” Kageyama looked away. “That one was my fault. Back then, I was too self-absorbed. I… after you left I wanted to become better at volleyball. I thought if I could become better than you, then I wouldn’t need you anymore and I would stop missing you. But I got too intense, tried too hard.”

Oikawa was barely holding back tears at this point. Hinata could see Kageyama’s shoulders trembling too, but his face was shadowed by his hair. 

“I should have helped you. I heard about what had happened, but I did nothing. I still regret it. I knew you were in pain but I still did nothing. What kind of brother does that make me?”

“No,” Kageyama said roughly. “You couldn’t have helped me back then. If I had seen you after that match… I was so angry at myself. I was a failure. You were the one taught me that the key to being a good setter is to pay attention to your spikers. I forgot that advice, and did the opposite in fact. If you came to talk to me then, it wouldn’t have ended well.”

“You’re not a failure,” Oikawa said forcefully, “you have never been a failure.”

“How can you say that?” Kageyama yelled. “I was a disappointment that day, even I can admit that.”

“You are not a disappointment!” Oikawa grabbed Kageyama by the shoulders. “You will never be a disappointment to me! No matter what you do, no matter how much you mess up. You’re my little brother, Tobio, and I will always be proud of you. That’s something you should never have doubted.”

Kageyama took in a deep breath to speak, but choked on his words. 

Oikawa didn’t hesitate, pulling Kageyama into a hug. “I’m sorry, Tobio, I’m so sorry.” The younger boy couldn’t hold back anymore and began to sob. “It’ll be alright now. I won’t leave you again. I’m so, so sorry, Tobio…” Oikawa kept on whispering as he rubbed Kageyama’s shuddering back. “I love you, Tobio.”

Kageyama just clung harder and pushed his head into Oikawa’s shoulder, clinging even tighter onto his brother’s back. “I love you too, nii-chan,” he said, so quiet he could barely be heard. “And I’m sorry for what I did too. I shouldn’t have tried to hit you yesterday.”

“It’s okay, I forgive you. You had every right to push me, after what I said to you.”

“No,” Kageyama shook his head, pulling back slightly. He looked up at Oikawa, his eyes red. “I shouldn’t have. I knew you were just saying those things because you were frustrated and I shouldn’t have taken it personally. I knew you didn’t mean it.”

Oikawa choked out a laugh. “Let’s just agree that it was both of our faults, okay?”

“Okay,” Kageyama agreed, burying his face into Oikawa’s shoulder again. 

They stood there for a while, basking in each other’s presence. 

Hinata averted his eyes, giving the brothers some privacy. His eyes met Iwaizumi’s. Iwaizumi smiled, nodding at him in thanks. Hinata nodded back, smiling to himself. It was nice to see they had finally made up. He could see the love between the two brothers, feel their close bond. It made him feel out of place, like this wasn’t something he was supposed to be witnessing. 

Iwaizumi seemed to sense his uncertainty. He pat Hinata’s shoulder, wordlessly telling him that it was alright. 

Kageyama and Oikawa were stepping back from each other now, though they still stayed close.  
Iwaizumi stepped forwards and put his hands on each of their shoulders. “What did I tell you? Everything worked out in the end.”

The two brothers looked at Iwaizumi. “Don’t think I forgot about what you said before, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said. “About this being partially your fault.”

“Yeah, Iwa-san,” Kageyama agreed. “You shouldn’t blame yourself for not saying anything. You know both of us are very stubborn.”

Iwaizumi smiled helplessly at the nicknames. It brought back fond memories of their shared childhood. He gave a small yelp of surprise when the two brothers pulled him into a hug. 

Hinata grinned at the sight of all of them hugging. Kageyama looked up at him smiling all by himself. “Oi, dumbass, don’t just stand there.” He jerked his head slightly, gesturing for Hinata to join.

“Kageyama!” Hinata yelled, wrapping his arms around Kageyama’s back. “I’m so glad you made up with your nii-san. Though you didn’t even mention you had a nii-san, even when I told you about Natsu.”

“How could I, idiot?” Kageyama asked, glancing at Oikawa. “When I didn’t even know if he was still my brother?”

Oikawa looked like he wanted to cry again. “Tobio…”

“But now that I know he’s my nii-chan again, I guess I could tell you about him,” he mumbled to Hinata, blushing. Overcome with embarrassment, Kageyama pulled away from the hug and went to get his stuff. He coughed awkwardly. “Anyway it’s time for all of us to head home, isn’t it?”

“You’re so cute, Tobio!” Oikawa said, grinning. “I want another hug!”

“Stop that!” Kageyama said, pushing away his older brother with his face bright red. “Don’t be embarrassing!”

Iwaizumi laughed at their antics. He walked over to Hinata’s side again. 

“I’ve never seen Kageyama this happy,” Hinata said. He grinned brightly, “It’s kind of nice.”

“Oikawa too,” Iwaizumi said, staring at Oikawa who was chasing Kageyama around the gym. “I forgot what he was like before. I just got used to him without Kageyama. I’m glad this is over. It’s been too long.”

“You’re a good friend, Iwaizumi-san,” Hinata said. “You went through all this trouble to get them to make up.”

“It wasn’t just for them,” Iwaizumi confessed. “Tobio was like my little brother too. I missed him just as much as Oikawa did.”

“Well now you can all be together again, just like it used to be,” Hinata said cheerfully. “And we should have a rematch now that Kageyama is all better.”

Iwaizumi laughed. “Everything is volleyball to you, isn’t it?”

“No, not everything,” Hinata said with a smile, looking over at Oikawa and Kageyama. Oikawa threw his arm around Kageyama’s shoulders, leading him towards the exit. Kageyama hesitated for a moment and then tentatively leaned into Oikawa’s grasp. They were both hiding wide grins as they walked peacefully out of the gym. “Something things will always more important.”


End file.
